Storage rack for musical instruments



Oct. 20, 1936. w SHERRARD 2,058,184

STORAGE RACK FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Dec. 28, 1934 Patented Oct. 20, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STORAGE RACK FOR MUSICAL INSTRUBIENTS 3 Claims.

This invention relates to storage racks for musical instruments.

In storing musical instruments, such as cellos, string basses, sousaphones, and other musical in- 5 struments, a large amount of storage space is required on account of the shape and construction of the instruments. Consequently they are very often left on the floor of the storage room where they can be very easily damaged. This is especially true in schools and other establishments having bands and orchestras, each of which includes several cellos and string basses or sousaphones.

The object of the present invention isto provide a storage rack for supporting a plurality of musical instruments, such as cellos, string basses, or wind basses, whereby each instrument is spaced apart from the adjacent instruments in a selected location on the rack and can be removed and replaced without disturbing or removing the other instruments and is securely supported in position on the rack so that it cannot be accidentally displaced or knocked from the rack.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a storage rack for musical instruments which can be wheeled from the storage room into another, such as the practice room, with the instruments positioned in the rack, whereby the musicians or students can place the instruments in the rack during intermission.

Additional objects of the invention are to pr6- vide a storage rack of the class described which is compact so as to occupy minimum space and which can be economically manufactured.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevational view of my storage rack with the musical instruments shown in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of same, with the musical instruments also shown in dotted lines.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the storage rack,

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a vertical cross section taken through a modified form of storage rack.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing, l indicates a storage rack comprising a pair of end members I I, a front bottom rail l2, a rear bottom rail l3, and a top rail l4. Each end member H consists of a base l terminating in legs 16, each of which is provided with a caster l1. Extending upwardly from the forward end of said base and inclined rearwardly is a support I8 and extending between the rear end of said base and member l8 and inclined forwardly is a brace I9.

The top rail I4 is L-shape in cross section and extends between and has its ends secured to the upper ends of supports IS. The ends of the for- Ward bottom rail 12 are secured to the lower ends of supports l8 near their junction with bases l5 and the ends of rear bottom rail l3 are secured to the lower ends of braces l9 adjacent to the bases I5.

The lengths of the bases [5 and the spacing of bottom rails l2 and 13 from each other is arranged in accordance with the type of instrument to be placed in the rack. Thus, for instance, the bottom rails l2 and I3 are spaced farther apart in racks which are used to support string basses than the bottom rails used in racks for supporting cellos. Arranged transversely between the bottom rails I2 and I3 and fixed at their ends to the respective rails is a plurality of spacers 20 which are spaced from each other in accordance with the musical instruments tobe supported by the rack, the spacing of the members 20 being such that the musical instruments are spaced from each other by said members 20 and a sufficient clearance exists between the instruments to per: mit easy removal and replacement of any one of the instruments without interfering with the others.

The top rail M has its horizontally disposed leg I411. formed with a plurality of notches 2|, each of which is arranged in a predetermined relation with the space formed by the spacers 20 and is adapted to receive the upper portion of the musical instrument. Each of the notches is preferably lined with padding 22 of suitable material, such as felt, so as to prevent marring of the surface of the musical instrument. Similarly, the bottom rails l2 and I3 which support the lower portions of the musical instruments are provided with padding 23 to prevent damage of the instruments. As shown, the bottom rails l2 and I3 are inclined from horizontal so as to help center and support the lower portion of the musical instrument.

Arranged on the outer side of each support I8 is a plurality of hooks 24 which are used to support the bows of the string instruments.

In the form just described, a storage rack for cellos and string basses is described.

In the modified form shown in Figure 5, a

storage rack 26 for use with sousaphones and other wind basses is shown. The construction is similar to the preceding form with the exception that the bottom rails 21 are spaced farther apart to accommodate the round lower end of the instrument. The notches 2B in the top rail are larger to receive the wide neck of the instrument immediately below the detachable bell portion.

When the storage racks are used in schools, the stalls or storage spaces formed by members 20 are numbered and assigned to different students and each student is required to keep his instrument in the rack in the place assigned to him.

By using my storage racks, the instruments can be stored compactly without danger of damage and can be removed without interfering with each other. As the rack is provided with casters, it can be easily wheeled from one place to another without disturbing the instruments supported thereon. The width of the rack is such that it can readily pass through the doors when moved from one room to another. The horizontally disposed ledge or portion Ma of top rail M can be used to support pieces of rosin and other articles.

While I have described herein the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is obvious that various modifications could be made in my storage rack without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A storage rack for supporting musical instruments in inclined position, said rack comprising in combination end members, a pair of bottom rails spaced transversely from each other and having their ends fixed to said end members, and a top rail extending between and fixed to the upper ends of said end members, said top rail being disposed substantially in a vertical plane with the rear one of said bottom rails and including a horizontal piece provided with a plurality of horizontally disposed forwardly open ing notches spaced from each other and adapted to receive the upper portions of musical instru ments, the lower portions of which rest upon said bottom rails.

2. A storage rack for supporting musical instruments in inclined position, said rack comprising in combination a pair of end members, a pair of spaced-apart bottom rails extending between and fixed to the lower ends of said end members and adapted to support between them the lower end of a musical instrument, and a top rail extending between and fixed to the upper ends of said end members and adapted to engage and support the upper end of said musical instrument, said top rail being spaced rearwardly adjacent to the vertical plane of the rear bottom rail and provided with a horizontally disposed ledge having horizontally disposed and forwardly opening notches for receiving and supporting the upper ends of said musical instruments.

3. A storage rack for supporting musical instruments in rearwardly inclined positions, said rack comprising in combination a support, a pair of horizontally disposed spaced-apart members carried by said support near the lower end thereof and adapted to receive therebetween the lower end of a musical instrument and supported at two spaced-apart points, and a member arranged on said support above said pair of members and substantially in a vertical plane with the rear member, said upper member having a laterally and forwardly opening recess for engaging and supporting said musical instrument near the upper end thereof.

WAYNE F. SHERRARD. 

